


Hey Youngblood

by Dontpanicinthefallout



Category: Fall Out Boy
Genre: F/M, Minor Peterick, Youngblood Chronicles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-25
Updated: 2013-12-29
Packaged: 2017-12-30 11:25:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 14,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1018047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dontpanicinthefallout/pseuds/Dontpanicinthefallout
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Pete Wentz leaves Fall Out Boy with nothing but a small note, the band is desperate for a new bassist. They run into Jasey Riddell, a 25 year old bass player working in a record store in NYC. After they officially release Save Rock and Roll, they hit the road for their first tour in years. Will Jasey fall for one of her new band mates, or will something evil following them tear the band apart and make sure they never play again?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Patrick's POV

It was the middle of the night when I got the call. Andy's name flashed on my iPhone's screen, blinding me for a few seconds. "Andy, it's the middle of the night." I mumbled.

"Yea Pat, but that's not important now." Andy's voice crackled through the speaker. "Pete's gone."

"What?!" I shot up out of bed, now fully awake.

"Just get over here. Joe's already here." I heard Joe yell 'hello' in the background. I leapt out of bed, grabbed my glasses, threw a hoodie on, grabbed a pair of sweatpants, and dashed out the door. Half an hour later, I ended up at Andy's house. The guys were in Andy's music room. Joe was pacing in the corner, his fro bouncing with every step he took.

"This can't be happening." He mumbled. "This can't be happening."

"Guys, what do you mean Pete's gone?" I was worried.

"Read this." Andy handed me a small wrinkled piece of paper. It was a note, definitely in Pete's handwriting.

_"Guys,_

_Thing have come up that are beyond my control and I do not wish anyone to get in the crossfire. I am leaving the band. It is for the best if you do not contact me further. I will be okay, you all will be okay. Don't let this band fall through because of me._

_-Pete"_

My hands were shaking as I read the note, "This can't be happening." My voice trembled.

"Well it is, so what do we do?" Andy remained calm. The three of us already knew the answer.

We need a new bassist.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jasey's POV

"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP" My alarm screamed in my ear. If my roommate, Zakana, hadn't moved it to the other side of my room, I'd be glaring at another broken clock. Unwillingly, I shuffled out of bed and smashed the off button. I grabbed my iPhone and tapped on my morning playlist. The first song to pop up was "Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes" by Fall Out Boy. I shuffled over to the shower, stripped off my pjs, and stepped into the warm rain. Me being me, I sang along to Patrick Stump's amazing voice, hitting every note with perfect timing. I heard a loud knock on the bathroom as I stepped out of the shower.

"Hey Patrick Stump, you're gonna be late for work if you don't get your butt I gear!" Zakana yelled through the door.

"I'll be out in a minute Z." I called back. I grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans and one of my flannel shirts and threw them on as fast as I could. My short, red hair was mostly dry, but I blow-dried it for a second to make sure. I grabbed my lucky blue beanie and dashed out of the apartment.

Fifteen minutes later, I climbed the steps out of the subway into the center of New York City. The record store I worked at was just behind the entrance. I peered in the window to see that the crew was already there, with Starbucks. The overhead bell rang as I entered the store. The crew greeted me with their usual hellos, mainly a raise of the coffee cup. "What's with the coffee?" I asked.

"Danny and I made a bet on last night's game on who would win." My friend Alexa explained. "Loser had to buy the whole crew coffee, so free coffee for everyone from Danny." She handed me a tall cup. I took a quick whiff, white chocolate, my favorite.

"Thanks Danny." I sipped the creamy bittersweet liquid.

Danny raised a tattooed hand in response. "Last time I make a bet against 'lex"

Everyone laughed because they all knew that wasn't going to last.

"So Jace, how'd the audition go?" Alexa spoke up.

"Not good," I rolled my eyes.

She grimaced, "They picked Rayna, didn't they?"

"Bingo." I muttered and began leafing through the bins of vinyl.

 

My name is Jasey Riddell. I'm a 25 year old aspiring bassist living in New York City, and welcome to my life.


	2. The Record Store

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Joe and Jasey meet

THREE WEEKS LATER

Joe's POV

Ever since Pete left, things have been crazy. The three of us kept it a secret for as long as we could, but finally decided as a band to let our fans know. Their reactions ranged from "We'll miss you, Pete." to questions if the band is going to go back on hiatus. 

We were currently in New York for a few days to do some interviews, and possibly look for a bassist. A lot of them revolved around Pete's departure from the band, which I could see made Patrick uncomfortable to talk about. 

After our last interview, we had some time to explore the city. The bustling noises of Times Square filled my ears as we stepped out into the streets. I looked through the mass of people and stores until I laid my eyes on a record store. It was fairly small to be in New York, but the inside looked pretty nice. I pointed it out to the guys, who agreed to go check it out. 

The inside of the store smelled of coffee and vinyl. A few people were browsing through the rows of CDs and others leafing through stacked bins of vinyl. "Hi." A guy with a Blink-182 tee shirt, a lip piercing, and sandy blonde hair walked up to us. "Welcome to Wayward Music. My name's Danny, can I help you guys?" 

"We're just browsing, thanks." Andy replied, leafing through one of the bins. Patrick was looking through one of the shelves marked "R&B". I walked around the store, pausing at times to look through a bin or two, until I laid my eyes on a Gibson acoustic guitar hidden behind the checkout counter. 

"You play?" I asked Danny, who was restocking the shelf behind me. 

"Oh, not really." He shook his head. "Ryan and Jasey do though." He pointed to the guy behind the counter, who I guessed was Ryan, and to a girl with bright red hair and a Green Day tee stacking CDs on the other side of the store. "That's Ryan's guitar and Jasey plays bass. She's amazing." 

The word 'bass' caught my attention. "How good is she?" 

"Scary good. Any band to get her is really lucky. I've never heard someone play with as much passion as Jasey." Danny explained. "Why? You looking for a bassist?" 

"Actually I am." I told him. 

"Then go ask her, I think she'd love to play." 

Taking a deep breath, I walked over to her. "Hi." 

She turned around, "Oh, hi. Can I help you?" 

"Are you Jasey?" I asked. 

"Yes I am." She nodded. 

"I heard you're a bassist and my band is looking for a new bass player." I explained. "I was wondering if you'd like to play?" 

She stared at me, her hazel eyes wide with shock. "You're serious?" 

I nodded. "If we swap numbers, we can figure out a time you can come over and play." 

Jasey's face lit up as a smile grew across her face. "Yes!" She exclaimed, "That's completely fine with me." She grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled down her number and handed it to me. "Here you go. Before I forget, what's your name?" She asked, handing me her notepad.

"Joe." I answered, scribbling down my number. 

"Well it was very nice to meet you, Joe." She shook my hand.

"It was nice to meet you too Jasey." I turned back to find the guys at the door, motioning for me to come with. "I'll call you later."

"Alright, thank you so much." she said before turning back to her work. 

"Who was that?" Patrick asked. 

"I think I just found us a new bassist." I told them as we headed back out to explore the city.


	3. The Audition of a Lifetime

Jasey's POV

After Joe left, Alexa dashed up to me and dragged me to the backroom, "I am so jealous of you right now." She was freaking out. 

"Why?" I was confused. 

"You didn't recognize him?!" She exclaimed. 

"No, why?" I was still confused. 

She groaned and pulled up a picture if Fall Out Boy on her phone. "Look!" I looked closely at the picture. Joe looked a lot like the guy I just spoke with, very similar. Then I realized what Alexa was freaking out about. .

"Holy shit." I muttered. 

'Lex nodded, "Yea."

I just met Joe Trohman.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later that night~~~~~~~~

It was late when I got the call from Joe. Zakana and I were doing our usual Saturday night ritual of a Supernatural marathon and popcorn. We were just getting set and the opening credits were playing when my phone went off in the kitchen. I dropped my popcorn, leapt over the couch with 'catlike grace' meaning I nearly tripped over the couch and landed on my face, and snatched my phone off the counter. "Hello." I motioned to Zakana to pause the show.

"Hello, Jasey?" Joe's voice echoed over the speaker. 

"Hi Joe." I smiled like an idiot, thank god he couldn't see me. 

"You're on speaker with the rest of the band." I heard two extremely familiar voices say hello in the background. Patrick Stump and Andy Hurley. 

'Who is it?' Zakana mouthed. 

'Someone wants me in their band' I mouthed back. "Hello." I chimed to the rest of the band. 

"So Jasey, tomorrow is our last day in New York and we were wondering when we can speak to you and possibly hear you play." Joe explained. 

 

"I get off work on Sundays around 5. But my boss, Danny, is giving me the day off since he heard you talking to me about this." I said. "I can meet you there though." 

"That sounds great." Joe replied. "What time?" 

"Noon-ish?" I suggested. 

"Perfect, we'll see you then." Joe said. "Bye Jasey." I heard the others say goodbye too. 

"Bye Joe. Bye Andy. Bye Patrick" I said before hanging up. 

 "Soooo, you got a band?" Zakana asked, her caramel colored skin glowing in the tv light. 

"Hopefully." I murmured. "I'm just gonna go to bed. Today has been insane." 

"Suit yourself." Z laughed. "G'night Miss Rockstar." 

 I smiled, "G'night Z." I closed the door to my bedroom and fell on my bed in a lump. Today was insane and so will tomorrow. Today, I just got asked to be Fall Out Boy's new bassist, and tomorrow will be the audition of my life.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Next Day~~~~~~~~~

 

Patrick's POV 

I checked the time, 11:55. Five minutes until we meet this 'Jasey' girl Joe was talking to last night. "There she is." Joe said, pointing to a girl carrying a guitar case up the subway entrance. All I could do was stare. She was really pretty. Most of her bright red hair was covered by a black beanie, her smooth hazel eyes were traced with black eyeliner, and she reminded me a bit of Pete with the way she walked and carried her instrument. She had on a pair of black skinny jeans, a bright blue dress shirt, and dark brown Doc Martens

"Hello." She chimed. 

"Guys, this is Jasey." Joe introduced us to her. 

"Hello, Jasey." Andy shook her hand.  

"Hi." She flashed him a beautiful white smile. 

 "Hi. I'm Patrick." I introduced myself.  

"Hi, I'm Jasey Riddell." She re-introduced herself. I could see she was a bit nervous. 

"So how long have you been playing?" I asked. 

"About seven years." She replied. "I grew up in the New Jersey suburbs and my parents kind of tried to press their values of the man being the breadwinner and the woman being the homemaker on me, so they refused to let me have any form of musical instrument. So I bought this," She pointed to her bass, "the day I graduated high school, enrolled at NYU in their performing arts program, and that's been my life ever since." 

"Can we hear you play?" Andy asked her.

"Yea, I know a place where you can actually hear it." She laughed. "Follow me." Jasey led us through the store to a small room in the back. It looked like a recording studio. "Danny built this when the store first opened." She explained, pulling out a jet black bass. "Ryan and I would come back here after work and play for hours."

"Nice," I commented. "So what song are you playing?"  

"Grow Up by Paramore. Do you mind if I sing too or just the baseline?" She asked. 

"You can sing if you want." I answered. "Just start when you're ready."

Jasey took a deep breath and then I saw magic happen. 

 

_"I told 'em all to stick it_

_I left town with a dime to my name_

_I said, I'm done with all of my fake friends_

_Self-righteous pawns in a losing game_

_Got my band and a light that won't go out_

_Been burning since the day I was born_

_So I cried just a little then I'll dry my eyes_

_Cause I'm not a little girl no more_

_Some of us have to grow up sometimes_

_And so, if I have to I'm gonna leave you behind_

_Some of us have to grow up sometimes_

_And so, if I have to I'm gonna leave you behind"_

_Stand in line for so long just to picket_

_Something I will never understand_

_Aren't you tried of always being mad at the world?_

_Won't you just admit you don't care_

_And baby, I don't want your pity_

_So don't feel sad for me_

_I got a love I would die for and a song to sing_

_Maybe we're both just living out our dream_

_Some of us have to grow up sometimes_

_And so, if I have to I'm gonna leave you behind_

_Some of us have to grow up sometimes_

_And so, if I have to I'm gonna leave you behind_

_We get along for the most part_

_Me and reality, it's a light in the dark_

_We live alone, two different world_

_Me in a fantasy, you in your memories_

_But we get along_

_We get along_

_(For the most part)_

_We get along_

_(For the most part)_

_We get along_

_(For the most part)_

_We get along_

_(For the most part)_

_We get along_

_We get along_

_Some of us have to grow up sometimes_

_And so, if I have to I'm gonna leave you behind (leave you behind)_

_Some of us have to grow up sometimes_

_And so, if I have to I'm gonna leave you behind (leave you behind)_

_Some of us have to grow up sometimes (we grow up and evolve)_

_And so, if I have to I'm gonna leave you behind_

_Some of us have to grow up sometimes (we grow up and evolve)_

_And so, if I have to I'm gonna leave you behind"_

By the end of the song, the three of us were staring at her in shock. 

"Wow." I heard Andy say. 

"Holy smokes." I gasped.

"What do you think?" She asked sheepishly. The three of us huddled together. 

"I want her." Andy said.

"I'm with Andy," Joe backed him up. "She's wicked good, and can sing."

"Pat, what do you think?" Andy turned to me. 

"Sign her." Was all I said. They both looked relieved.

"Great, so who's gonna tell her?" Joe asked. 

I volunteered to tell her. I walked up to Jasey, who looked completely terrified. 

"So?" She was shaking, "What did you think?" 

I held out my hand, which she accepted, "Jasey Riddell, welcome to Fall Out Boy." 

Her hazel eyes widened in shock. "Y-you're serious?!" She gasped. I nodded. Jasey's face lit up with her blinding white smile as she wrapped me in a huge bear hug. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!" The words blurred together. "Ohmygosh! This is the best day of my life!" She peeled off me and straightened herself out. "I mean thank you very much. When do I start?'" 

"Well we're heading back home tomorrow and we'd like for you to come out with us so we can get all the formalities taken care of." I explained. 

"O-of course!" She exclaimed. "I'll need to find a place to stay, but of course!" 

"You can stay with me if you want." I suggested. 

"Really?" She asked, "Would that be okay?" 

I shrugged, "I'm fine with it." 

"Thank you so much Patrick!" She exclaimed, "Thank you for everything! This is the best day of my life! I have to go pack!" She put her bass back in its case, thanked the guys multiple times and told Joe she'd call him later about the flight and all that.

"Well she took the news pretty well…" Andy spoke up. "I guess that leaves one loose end to tie up." 

He was right. The biggest loose end of this whole thing- 

How are our fans going to react to Jasey?

 


	4. Everything Changes Now

Jasey's POV

 

I rushed back to my apartment so fast that I don't even remember getting on or off the subway. I was on an adrenaline high like no other I have had before. "Z!" I yelled, slamming the door behind me. "You'll never guess what just happened!" 

"You got the part?" I heard Zakana ask from the back. 

"Yes!" I exclaimed, heading toward the direction of her voice. 

"That's awesome Jace!" She remarked. "Could you come look at this really quick?" 

"Sure, where are you?" I guessed she was probably doing someone's makeup. (She's a professional makeup artist) 

"My room." She called out. I headed to the door across from mine to find stage makeup littering the floor. I looked up and stifled a scream. A zombie was standing in the middle of Zakana's room. His dark face was ashen, his eyes were hollowed out and hungry, and he was bloodied and bruised. There was a nasy bite/gash on the right side of his neck. He let out a low and hungry groan. I saw Zakana next to the zombie, dabbing more blood onto the wound. "Hey rock star!" she turned back to face me. "Congrats! Like the makeup? I'm doing it for the Central Park Zombie Chase." 

"Looks good. Hey Mickey." I waved at the zombie. 

" 'Sup Jace" Mickey nodded. "Congrats on the band." 

"Thanks. I gotta pack." I spun around to my room, pulled a suitcase out of my closet, and began pulling out clothes to pack; jeans, t-shirts, blouses, skirts, a dress or two, extra strings, picks, who knows how long I was going to be gone. 

"Wait, Jace. What do you mean you have to pack?" Zakana sounded confused. I swore under my breath, I never told her that the band was actually Fall Out Boy. 

"Z, this isn't some local band that I got signed to." I pointed to the Fall Out Boy poster on my wall that Alexa gave me a few years ago. "You heard about Pete Wentz leaving Fall Out Boy?" Suddenly, her eyes widened and she took a step back. 

"No." She gasped.

"Yep." I confirmed her suspicions. "You're looking at the new bassist for Fall Out Boy." Z leapt onto me and gave me a rib-crushing bear hug, nearly suffocating me with her mass of curly hair. "Z.....can't.....breathe......" I gasped. 

Zakana let go and I gulped down precious air. "Sorry. I'm so excited for you! This is huge!" 

"Yea." I coughed, "I know. Don't let anyone else know yet, we still need to take care of all the formalities, that's why I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Sure." I could tell that she still couldn't believe it. "Wait, don't you need a place to stay?"

"Don't worry, I got that taken care of already." I told her, packing as much as I can into the suitcase.

"Don't you have to tell Danny though?" Z pointed out.  

"Crap! I do!" I yanked my phone out and dialed Danny's cell phone. 

It rang a few times before he picked up, "Hey Jasey, congrats on the band." his voice crackled through the speaker.

"Wait, how did you find out?" I asked.

"We sent 'Lex and Ryan to spy on you. From what I hear from them, the guys seemed to like you." He explained. 

"Yea, Im not going to be in for a while." I said.  

"Yea, I heard. 'Lex is freaking out. Congrats." I heard Alexa freaking out in the background. She was babbling on nonstop. I heard several "Oh my god!", "She's so lucky", and a few "Holy smokes." Danny laughed, "Take off as much time as you need."

"Thanks. See ya." I hung up and continued packing.

A few hours later, I was all set to leave tomorrow. Joe and I talked a bit about the flight and got my ticket. I made sure with Patrick one more time that I was okay to stay with him, which he repetitively told me that it was okay and he didn't mind the company. This was all so overwhelming.  

I made sure for one more time that I had everything; clothes, my bass, extra strings, picks, my portable amp, my laptop, charger, phone. All packed. Tomorrow, I was leaving my life in New York and starting over on the other side of the country not as Jasey Riddell the record store girl, but as Jasey Riddell the bassist for Fall Out Boy. 

"Yea," I muttered, "This is going to be awesome." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_All I knew was that I was running, not even daring to look to what was behind me. I looked to my side to see Andy and Joe running too. They were both bloody, bruised, and covered in grime. Suddenly, something caught me by the ankle, sending a sharp pain up my leg. I screamed in pain as I crumpled to the cold dirt._

_"Jace!" Andy yelled, quickly helping me back to my feet. Joe pointed out a clearing in the thick woods. The three of us sprinted towards the clearing as fast as we could. The clearing led us to a hospital. We ran up to the doors; they were locked._

_"Help!!" I screamed, pounding my fist on the door, "Help us! Please!" The three of us pounded on the door. Suddenly heard a low laugh come from behind us. I turned around, my breath shaking. I knew who was behind us, but I was too scared to look back._

_"Found you Riddell." I heard a low growl. I dared to look back, feeling the hot tears streaking my face. Patrick was standing behind us. His normally shining blue eyes glowed a demonic yellow. I saw the stitches twisting around his neck and his face was bloody and bruised._

_"P-patrick." I stuttered. "P-p-please. Its us. Your friends, Andy, Joe, Jasey. Remember us."_

_"Shut up." Patrick snapped._

_"Pat, this isn't funny anymore. What is going on?" Andy walked up to him. Patrick punched him right in the jaw, sending him to the ground, a small pool of blood began to form._

_"No!" I gasped, dashing to Andy's side. I felt something snap inside at me. I was no longer afraid I was angry. Whatever they did to him, I was done with the running, being scared, seeing those I cared about get hurt, and all the pain that came with it. I stood up to him and looked right into his evil yellow eyes._

_"Look who's grown up." He laughed darkly. I threw a punch right at him. He grabbed my arm, twisted it behind my back, and then twisted it back around. He grabbed the gold chain hanging on my neck. It was the necklace that Patrick gave me before all this. "Goodnight sweetheart." I heard him growl before I felt a sharp pain on the back of my neck and everything went dark._

~~~~~ 

I jumped in my seat. I remembered where I was, back on the plane. "It was all a dream." I muttered under my breath, looking out the window. We were already descending. 

 

"Morning Sleeping Beauty." I head a melodic voice say. I looked to my left to find Patrick in the seat next to me. 

 

"Ugh, how long was I out?" I mumbled.

 

"Almost the whole flight." He said, "You talk in your sleep."

 

"Oh, sorry." I felt embarassed.

 

"It's fine." He laughed. "It's actually kind of cute." I could feel myself blushing, Patrick Stump just called me cute. "Hey, I think were here." He pointed out the window to the growing city below. 

 

"Welcome to your new life Jasey." I told myself as I felt us touchdown in Los Angeles.


	5. I Got Troubled Thoughts

Patrick's POV

 

For the next few days, Jasey locked herself in her room for hours on end, learning all of our songs. I'd help her out for some of the more complicated ones, but I could tell that we made the right choice of signing her. Every time I'd see her, her bed was scattered with song sheets or there would be a sheet with the bass tabs of a song in her hand. By the end of the week, Jasey mastered our whole setlist for the upcoming tour and most of our other songs. On Saturday,we officially signed her to the band and announced her as our new bassist to our fans along with an upcoming acoustic session that we were going to do at a local record store in a few days. We got a lot of positive feedback welcoming her, but there was always the occasional post that Pete will always be remembered as the bassist and she's just going to be a tour fill in.  

The band met up at my house the day before the acoustic session to pick out the songs and rehearse. We eventually ended up deciding on 'My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark", "Sugar We're Goin' Down", "Thnks Fr th Mmrs", "I'm Like a Lawyer", "Grand Theft Autumn", and "What a Catch, Donnie". I convinced Jasey to sing backup for me during "What a Catch" on the end where we sing the lines from our other songs. 

That night, the two of us were going over the list one more time when Jasey's phone went off. She looked at the caller ID and groaned. "Great. I need to take this, sorry." She pressed the 'accept' button. "Hello."

I heard a woman scream over the phone loud enough for me to hear. "JACINDA CAMILLE RIDDELL YOU BETTER EXPLAIN YOURSELF RIGHT NOW YOUNG LADY!" 

Jasey yanked the phone away from her ear. "Great to hear from you too mom." She muttered. 

"MRS. SHAY FOUND YOUR FACE PASTED ON THE TABLOIDS AND TOLD ME RIGHT AWAY! YOU GET BACK HOME RIGHT NOW! I KNEW THAT SCHOOL MEANT NOTHING BUT TROUBLE! YOU'RE TURNING OUT JUST LIKE YOUR SISTER!" Mrs. Riddell screamed.

"Look mom, I'm not going back there. I'm actually happy for once." She growled. "I'm busy right now, can we please do this later." I could see her face turning as red as her hair. Her mother said something over the phone, but I couldn't make out what it was. "Mom, no. I'm done with him. I'm not going back. Send my best to dad. Bye." She snapped before hanging up. "Geez, seven years of silence and now she calls to tell me that I'm a fuck-up." She slumped up against the wall. "I shouldn't have come here."

"What's wrong Jace?" I asked. 

"Nothing, my mom finally calls me after seven years of acting like I don't exist and basically calls me a fuck-up for finally making it." I heard the hurt and anger in her voice. 

"Seven years?" I repeated. 

"Yep." She replied, popping the "p". 

"Why?"  

"Remember what I said back when we met about my parents being really strict?" She asked. I nodded in response. "Mostly it was my mom. My dad was pretty cool about me wanting to be a musician. He helped me look up schools, helped keep my grades up, looked for scholarships, all that. But we had to do a lot of it behind my mom's back. She was more worried about me being popular, Homecoming Queen, head football cheerleader, Prom Queen, and partying."

 

I raised an eyebrow. "You were Homecoming Queen?" 

 

She nodded, "And head football cheerleader, and Prom Queen, and girlfriend of the star quarterback. I was your classic preppy in high school. I swear, the girl my mom wanted me to be would look at me now, laugh, and say 'What happened to you?' When I told her I got accepted to NYU, she looked at me like I was a three headed monster." She held her head in her hands. "We haven't talked since. My dad and I still keep in touch, and I go visit my older sister now and then, but my mom and I haven't spoken for years." 

 

"Your sister?" I asked, "I thought your mom said that you were turning out like her." 

 

Jasey nodded. "She's a doctor in NYC. Freakin' brilliant. After she got accepted to med school, my mom really started stressing my popularity and that I had to be perfect." She explained, "She'd point out every flaw that I had. One year, some of my friends and I were going to go as the Black Parade for Halloween. I was really excited because I made and designed my costume myself. The day of Halloween though, I got home and couldn't find my costume or makeup. I asked my mom where it was, she told me that it was in my room. I went upstairs and found a slutty fairy costume on my bed, right where my Black Parade costume was supposed to be. I was a bit hurt about that, but my heart snapped when I found my Black Parade jacket that I designed and made myself in the garbage. It was destroyed beyond repair. The one thing I remember the most about that day besides my hard work shredded and thrown in the trash was my mom saying 'People don't want to hang around the emo girl, Jacinda. I don't want you to end up like that'. She made me feel ashamed for liking the things I like. I know that sounds ridiculous, I really don't even know why I'm telling you this." 

 

"You're probably just letting out unresolved issues between the two of you." I guessed. 

 

"So you're basically telling me that I've got troubled thoughts." She smirked. 

 

"Haha, and I've got a self-esteem to match." I finished her joke. "Very cheesy. But I have to ask, your name is really Jacinda? 

 

"Hey, never call me Jacinda. It's Jasey." A smile started to creep on her face. "I swear I'll get my revenge if you tell Joe or Andy." 

 

"Your secret's safe with me." I promised.

 

"Thanks." She smiled, picking up her bass, "Wanna go over the end of 'What a Catch' one more time?"

 

"Sure." I smiled, picking my guitar up. 

 


	6. Warning

Jasey's POV

There must have been over a hundred people at the store. Once we got to there and got set up, the guys were warming up while I was concentrating on not throwing up. A million thoughts were running through my head, 'What if I forget the lyrics, what if I forget the song, what if they hate me, what if what if what if." My thoughts were interrupted by a mass of curly brown hair nearly colliding with my face. Joe spun around. 

"You okay Jace?" He asked. "You don't look so hot." 

"Yea, just nerves." I managed to say. "I know you guys are used to this and all, but I'm just nervous that I'm going to mess this up." I looked down and saw that my hands were paper white and shaking. 

"Hey, you'll do great. The fans like you. All you need to do now is blow them away with your awesome bass skills." He reassured me. 

Suddenly, we heard Andy call our names. Show time. In that moment, all the stress and nerves left my mind. Something from my days as a cheerleader under the Friday night lights awoke inside me. I don't remember much after that until I heard Patrick say "Give it up for our new bassist, Miss Jasey Riddell." The whole store erupted in applause. The tips of my fingers were sore, but I nodded my head in acknowledgement. "We're going to do one more song and I'd like you all to help us out. This is called 'What A Catch Donnie'." He fixed his guitar on his leg. I started counting in my head; 1, 2, 3, 4.

"I got troubled thoughts  
And the self-esteem to match  
What a catch  
What a catch, whoa whoa whoa

You'll never catch us  
So just let me be  
Said I'll be fine 'til the hospital  
Or American Embassy

Miss Flack said I still want you back  
Yeah, Miss Flack said I still want you back

I got troubled thoughts  
And the self-esteem to match  
What a catch  
What a catch

And all I can think of  
Is the way I'm the one who charmed the one  
Who gave up on you  
Who gave up on you, whoa oh

They say the captain  
Goes down with the ship  
So when the world ends  
Will God go down with it?

Miss Flack said I still want you back  
Yeah, Miss Flack said I still want you back

I got troubled thoughts  
And the self-esteem to match  
What a catch  
What a catch

And all I can think of  
Is the way I'm the one who charmed the one  
Who gave up on you  
Who gave up on you

What a catch, what a catch  
What a catch, what a catch, oh whoa

I will never end up like him  
Behind my back I already am  
Keep a calendar  
This way you will always know

I said I got troubled thoughts  
And the self-esteem to match  
What a catch  
What a catch

And all I can think of  
Is the way I'm the one who charmed the one  
Who gave up on you  
Who gave up on you.

I leaned into the mic, singing my heart out. The guys vocalized behind me and eventually the whole store joined in. 

"Where is your boy tonight?  
I hope he is a gentleman  
Maybe he won't find out what I know  
You were the last good thing

We're going down, down in an earlier round  
And sugar, we're goin' down swinging

Dance, dance, we're falling apart to halftime  
Dance, dance, and these are the lives you'd love to lead  
Dance, this is the way they'd love  
If they knew how misery loved me

This ain't a scene, it's a goddamn arms race  
This ain't a scene, it's a goddamn arms race

One night and one more time  
Thanks for the memories  
Even though they weren't so great  
He tastes like you, only sweeter"

The singing died down as Patrick finished out the song.

I got troubled thoughts  
And the self-esteem to match  
What a catch  
What a catch"

The store went nuts with applause. They were all chanting "Fall Out Boy! Fall Out Boy! Fall Out Boy!" It was all a surreal blur. We stayed after for a bit, met some of the fans, gave some autographs, and took pictures. I was a bit nervous, so I kept close to Andy since he was the most level headed and the closest to me. The fans were great. If this is what a small acoustic show is like, I can't wait for touring. 

After everyone cleared out, we packed up our gear. We weren't doing anything for the rest of the day, so I wandered around the store for a bit. I was browsing though a bin labeled pop punk when I looked up and saw that someone was standing next to me. He was about my height, maybe a bit taller, had on a pair of black jeans and a red plaid shirt, and his black hair was spiked up. I thought he was familiar when it hit me just as when I found out who Joe was. I was standing next to Pete Wentz himself; the man whose place I took. 

"Ummm, hi." I spoke up, catching his attention. 

He must have noticed me because he put down the CD he was looking at and looked at me. "Hi. You're Jasey Riddell, right?" 

I nodded in response. "Yes I am." Blood was rushing to my cheeks.

"Great show today. You've got some great chemistry with those guys." He complimented. 

"Wow, thanks." I was definitely blushing AND smiling like a complete idiot. "Uh, I know this sounds weird, but what are you doing here? I thought you left?" 

"It's complicated," He tried to be brief. "Things have come up in my personal life that forced me to withdraw from the band. I knew you guys were performing today, so I wanted to see them one more time and check out how good you were. They made the right choice."

"Thanks." I responded. 

"Jasey, there is something I need you to do for me." He said. 

"A-anything." I answered. "What do you need?"

"Take care of Patrick for me, please?' He asked. "He's my best friend. Please take care of him for me." 

I nodded in response. "O-of course." 

Pete smiled. "Thanks. I wanted to make sure I put him in good hands. I think they made the right decision. And one more thing, be careful on the road, I have a feeling something is going to happen out there."

"What do you mean?" I was now really confused. 

"I don't know, just be careful." He responded. "I gotta go. Good luck, be careful." Pete turned around and headed out the door. 

"That was weird." I muttered, turning back to the CDs. I tried to brush off most of what he said, but there was a small voice in the back telling me that I should take his words to heart.


	7. Tour Life, Tattoos, and Romance?

TWO MONTHS LATER

Jasey's POV

"Gotcha!" Andy exclaimed, leaping off the couch, clicking the buttons on his Xbox controller rapidly. 

"No!" I laughed as my character got decapitated. I slumped on the couch in defeat. "Come on, best two out of three." 

"Just admit it Jasey, I am the master of Star Wars Battlefront." He smirked

"Fine. Andy Hurley is the best Star Wars Battlefront player to ever walk the Earth." I tried to say without laughing. 

"And don't you forget it." He said. 

I rolled my eyes. "I'm gonna turn in. How long until we're there?" I ask, climbing into my bunk.

"A few hours." Joe calls back.

We've been on tour for the past few weeks, and it's been the time of my life. I was completely terrified my first night that I barely even moved when we opened with "Thriller" but by the middle of the set, I was bouncing around onstage, interacting with the guys, even interacting with the audience. Joe had somehow convinced me somewhere along the road to get my first tattoo in honor of my first tour, even though I have a paralyzing fear of needles. So now I have a phoenix tattooed on my right shoulder and the band's logo tattooed behind my ear like Alex Gaskarth. My arm still hurt like hell, so I've been sleeping on my side for the past few days. "Joe, how long does the pain last on this?" I groaned. 

"It takes a few days," He reassured me. "It looks great though." 

"I can't believe you talked me into it." I muttered into my pillow. My arm and neck still felt like they had a billion tiny little bee stings. "How do you two keep doing this? I feel like my arm is on fire." 

"You just get used to it." Andy replied. 

"That's easy for you to say." I laughed. "Your whole body is covered in tattoos." After living on a bus for the past few weeks with the three of them, I was convinced that Andy's whole body was covered in tattoos. 

"Well I think you look amazing with or without them, Red." Patrick spoke up from the bunk across from me. He has nicknamed me 'Red' for some reason, so I nicknamed him 'Panda' in retaliation. 

"Haha, thanks Panda." I smiled. I pulled out my laptop and plugged my phone in to download some videos I took on the road. I'm creating a tour diary for myself and some friends back home in New York. We're doing a show in New Jersey tonight, so I'm wondering if I'll see any of my friends from back in high school since the venue is only an hour away from where I grew up. 'Probably not.' I thought, piecing all the different clips together, adding captions, and editing clips. I was suddenly interrupted by a fedora landing on my keyboard. 

"Don't give it to him!" Andy called back. I peered out of my bunk to find a red faced, fedora-less Patrick while Joe and Andy were trying to stifle their laughter. 

"What's going on?" I asked. 

"Don't give Patrick his fedora back yet!" Joe exclaimed. "He's got a question for you." 

'I'm touring with a bunch of twelve-year-olds' I thought, jumping out of my bunk. "What is it that you want to ask me?" 

I could definitely tell that Patrick was nervous. "Well..uh..I was-"

"Just say it already!" Joe and Andy said at the same time. 

Patrick looked back at them and then back to me. "I like you. I've liked you for a while now and I was kind of wondering; Do you want to be my girlfriend, or something?" 

I stood there stunned for a few seconds. Did he just ask me out? "What?" was all I said. 'Great job Einstien' I scolded myself. 

"Do you want to be my girlfriend?" He repeated, confirming what I thought he said in the first place. 

There was a few moments of awkward silence. Patrick looked a bit embarrassed, "I'm sorry. I know its stupid bu-" 

"Of course!" I cut him off. All three guys widened their eyes in surprise. 

"What?" The three of them said at once. 

"Of course I'll be your girlfriend, Patrick" I clarified. He looked so relieved. 

"Thank god. I was so scared that you were going to say no." He breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Why would I say no?" I laughed, giving him his fedora back and taking a seat in the little kitchenette booth. 

"Well, because I didn't see myself as really your type." He answered, taking a seat next to me. "From what you told me, I thought you'd be more of the tough muscular football player rather than a guy like me." 

"No way." I reassured him. "I'd rather date a guy like you rather than a muscly athletic douche." 

Patrick grinned, "Thanks." For the rest of the ride, Patrick and I curled up in my bunk and watched The Avengers while Joe and Andy played a few more rounds of Star Wars out in the living area. Things were finally starting to look up for me. I'm in a band, have some awesome friends, and now have the best boyfriend in the world. 

But you should always be careful of what you wish for.


	8. Losing Days

Joe's POV 

"Thank you New Jersey!" Jasey yelled into the mic. "You guys are amazing! We'll see you again soon." I made my way off the stage after the four of us took a final bow. We heard the crowd still chanting our name as we made it out to the back of the venue to meet some of them; "Fall Out Boy! Fall Out Boy!" There was a mass of people there. I signed a few copies of Save Rock and Roll, took pictures, met fans, the usual. It was always awesome meeting them no matter where in the world. But something felt off about tonight. I looked around to see Jasey and Andy doing the same thing, but no Patrick in sight. 

"Hey Jasey." I called her over after she finished taking a picture with some fans. 

"Yea?" She asked, walking over to me. 

"Where's Patrick?" I asked. 

Jasey looked around as if she didn't notice he wasn't with us until I asked her. "I don't know." She responded. "He went back on the bus to grab his glasses, but he said he'd come out and sign. I'll go check the bus once everything dies down." She told me under her breath so nobody else would hear. 

"Got it." I responded. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a majority of the people left, Andy and I stayed behind while Jasey went over to the bus to check on Patrick since he never showed up. Suddenly there was a high pitched scream, definitely Jasey, echoed from the bus. "Someone call 9-1-1!!!" She sounded terrified. Andy and I both made a mad dash to the bus and climbed inside. Jasey was kneeling in front of the bunks over a dark form. It was Patrick. He was pale as a sheet and shaking like a leaf. 

"Jasey, what happened?" I asked. 

"I-I don't know." She stammered. "I found him like this. I tried calling his name, but he isn't responding." 

Just as she finished, EMTs boarded the bus and loaded Patrick onto the gurney. He looked like he was asleep. They allowed Jasey to ride to the hospital in the ambulance with them since she was his girlfriend. "I'll call you once I get there."She called out to us before they slammed the doors shut. The sirens wailed in my ears as the ambulance sped off. We had just lost Pete, we can't afford to lose Patrick too.


	9. Props & Mayhem

Jasey's POV

 

The hospital was only fifteen minutes away, luckily. Patrick was immediately rushed away, but I wasn't able to go with him. So there I was, sitting patiently in the waiting room to hear any news about his condition. Joe and Andy were already on their way. Since it was the middle of the night, the waiting room was fairly empty, so I decided to just tune out and listen to some music to get my mind off everything. I popped my earbuds in and clicked the 'shuffle' on one of my playlists. The first song to pop up was 'Props & Mayhem' by Pierce the Veil. 

 

_"Self medicate while they sleep,_

_We let the night chase evil things away_

_And we're like animals homesick from shows_

_We gotta kill everything before the night gets wasted_

_Maybe it seems so strange_

_But we don't even stress at all_

_'Cause we've got poisons in our lungs..._

_(Poison in our lungs)_

_Come at me with everything you've got._

_Burst into flames,_

_Scream in the dark_

_I'm gonna light up this place_

_And die in beautiful stars_

_Tonight_

_Does it even make a difference?_

_When I'm sober, I feel pain_

_'Cause we run under the stars_

_Through cemetery backyards (backyards)_

_Celebrate the way the night hides scars._

_So dance if it moves you_

_Jump in the fire if it burns you_

_I'll throw my arms around you darling_

_And we'll turn to ashes_

_Drown me in the flames_

_Burst into flames,_

_Scream in the dark!_

_I'm gonna light up this place-"_

 

I was interrupted by someone gently shaking my shoulder. "Miss Riddell." The doctor next to me called my name. I pulled out my earbuds. 

"Yes?" I asked. "Do you have any news about him?" 

 "Actually we do." He flipped through the cream-colored folder in his hands. "He's resting now. He had a minor panic-attack, nothing too severe." 

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god. Can I see him?"

The doctor nodded and led me down a series of hallways to Patrick's room. He laying on the hospital bed, patiently waiting there. He looked over at me and shot up in surprise. "Jasey."

"Patrick." I rushed over to the bed and hugged him. "You scared the living hell out of us."  

"Yea, sorry." He blushed. "Where are Joe and Andy?" 

Right on cue, the two of them walked in. "What happened?" Andy asked. "We were worried sick about you." 

"I don't remember much after the show." Patrick responded. "I went on the bus to grab my glasses and the next thing I knew I woke up here."  

"The doctor said you had a panic attack." I explained. "It wasn't too severe though. They'll probably let you out in the morning."  

Just as I finished a different doctor from earlier walked in. She froze in the doorway. I thought she looked familiar; her dark brown hair was tightly pulled back out of her face and her brown eyes were hidden behind her glasses. The name T.RiddellM.D. was stitched onto her breast pocket. "Tessa?" I said. 

"Jasey?" She responded. "What are you doing here?" 

"Emergency visit." I answered. "What are you doing here?" 

"I work here." She stated matter-of-factly, then turned her attention to Patrick. "Mr. Stump, everything checks out with us. You're free to go if you want."  

Patrick leapt off the bed. "Great. I'm ready to get out of here if you guys are."  

"Sure." Joe and Andy responded.

 "You guys go ahead." I said. "I'll be out in a minute." The three of them shrugged and headed out of the room while Tessa and I stayed behind. She looked at me with a sly grin.  

"So, my baby sister is in the big leagues now." She taunted. "What does mommy dearest have to say?" 

I blushed. "What do you think? She called me during rehearsal one day and basically flipped out at me so loud Patrick could hear her. Kind of embarrassing to say the least."  

Tessa raised an eyebrow. "That bad huh?" I nodded. "So, what's it like on the road with all guys?" 

"Not bad." I rolled up my sleeve to reveal my phoenix tattoo. "Like it?" 

She nodded. "Nice. So, got your eye on any of 'em?" 

My face turned red. "Actually yes." 

Tessa squeaked like a teenager. "Awwww. Which one? Patrick? You two looked adorable together." 

 

"Haha thanks." I answered shyly. I hated talking to my sister about boys. "Well I've gotta go or else I'll be stranded here. Nice seeing you sis." I waved goodbye to my sister and headed out towards the bus. The brisk New Jersey air slapped me in the face as I walked through the sliding glass doors into the night. 

 

Suddenly, someone or something leapt out from behind me and tackled me to the pavement. My arms were pinned to the ground by my wrists. I heard a low laugh echo from my captor. "Jasey Riddell, what a surprise." I struggled to break free. "Well more of a surprise for you that me." The low lighting of the parking lot obscured her appearance, but I could see the outline of a woman in skin tight black clothing.

 

"Lemme go!" I yelled.

 

The woman clicked her tongue. "I wish it was that simple." 

 

"Lemme go!" I repeated. "Patrick! Joe! Andy! Someone! Help!" 

 

She laughed. "You think they're going to come to the rescue, don't you?" 

 

That caught my attention. I stopped struggling. "What did you to to them?" 

 

The woman laughed darkly. "You'll find out soon enough honey." Suddenly, there was a loud thump and she collapsed on top of me. I looked up to see Andy standing over us. 

 

"Jace! Are you okay?" He asked, pulling the woman off me. 

 

"Y-yea." I answered, scrambling to my feet. "What happened?" 

 

"We were attacked on our way to the bus. They took Patrick and Joe, I was able to escape though." He explained, going though the woman's pockets. There were a set of car keys in her jacket. 

 

"So what do we do?" I asked. 

 

"We call the police." He answered flatly. Suddenly, I heard the click of heels behind me. We both spun around to find three women dressed like my assailant walking towards us. Andy and I made a run for it. The alarm went off on one of the cars, I guessed Andy set it off to find where the keys belonged. We made a mad dash toward the wailing car. It was an old Impala like something off of Supernatural. I climbed into the passenger side through the window while Andy jumped into the driver seat. One of them lunged at me, her unnaturally sharp nails clawing at my arm. I shoved her off of me and slammed her head against the door, making her crumple to the cold pavement. 

 

"Get us out of here!" I exclaimed as the engine roared to life. My ears were filled with the screeching of tires as we sped off out of the parking lot as fast as we could, probably running over one of the attackers. My mind was racing at 100 miles an hour, but with only two questions. 

 

Who are they and what did they want with us?


	10. Back To The Streets Where We Bagan

Jasey's POV

Andy and I drove for a while on the highway, the memory of what just happened still freshly imprinted in my head. I looked down and saw I was still shaking. Andy looked like he just seen a ghost. "Now what?" He asked. 

We were in New Jersey and I knew this specific area like the back of my hand. After scanning a few road signs, I realized that we were only a few minutes away from somewhere we could crash for the night. "Take the exit up here and keep right for a few miles." I pointed to the exit sign in front of us. Andy followed the directions which led us to a small suburban development. "Take the next left and stop at the third house on the right." I said. We ended up parking in front of a small blue picket fenced house. I unclipped my seatbelt and climbed out of the car. I began making my way up to the front door when Andy grabbed my wrist. I spun around and nearly punched him out of pure instinct.

"Jasey, I know you're scared. But where are we?" He asked. 

"Somewhere safe." I replied. "At least I hope so." I added under my breath so he wouldn't hear me. Just as I rang the doorbell, looked down and realized that I was still wearing my Youngblood jacket and my stage clothes. I probably looked like a wreck. A man in about his early fifties with salt and pepper hair opened the door. His face turned ghostly pale at the sight of me. 

"J-Jasey?" He was definitely shocked to see me. 

"Thomas," A woman yelled from inside the house. "Who is it and what are they doing here at this ungodly hour?" She was right, it was nearly 3:00 in the morning. 

"Lauren, come see for yourself." Thomas called back. A woman around his age with dirty blonde hair that was slightly faded with age appeared in the doorway. Her face also turned into an expression of shock. 

"Hi mom. Hi dad." I broke the momentary silence. 

"Jacinda, what are you doing here?" My mother asked. I heard Andy snicker behind me at the mentioning of my real name. "Who is he?" She pointed to Andy.

"This is Andy." I introduced him. "He's a friend of mine. Can we come in?" 

My dad gestured us inside. Andy and I took a seat on the living room couch. "Jasey, what is going on? What are you doing here?" 

I knew there was no way for them to understand what just happened without the whole story, so I told them everything. Meeting Joe, joining the band, the call from mom, touring, Patrick and I, the hospital, everything. My parents just stood there and listened. "I know this all sounds completely made up and I wouldn't blame you if you didn't believe me, but is it okay if Andy and I crash here for the night?" 

"I believe you." My father answered me. "It does sound a bit far-fetched, but I believe you."

"Thomas, are you crazy?" My mother turned to him. 

"Mom, this is serious." I stood up. I rolled up my sleeve to reveal the scratches one of the women left on my arm, just below my phoenix tattoo. "Andy and I nearly died. As for Patrick and Joe, I don't even know." 

My mother rolled up my sleeve even farther, revealing the whole tattoo. "Jacinda," She said. "What happened to you?" She looked more ashamed if the tattoo than worried about the scratches. 

I yanked my arm away and rolled my sleeve back down. "I got out." I told her. "I made my own path, not one of you predetermined fantasies." 

"And look where it landed you." She responded coldly. 

"Look mom, it's 3AM. We've been up for almost twenty hours, can we deal with this later?" I tried to negotiate with her. 

"Fine, you and your 'friend' can spend the night. But we are going to have a serious conversation in the morning." My mother gave in. My stomach twisted in knots thinking about what she wants to converse about in the morning. "Your room is the way you left it. As for Andy, the guest room is available if you'd like." 

"Thank you Mrs. Riddell." Andy thanked her. I led him upstairs to the small cream colored guest room across the hall from my old room. My room was the way I left it the day I moved to New York. The walls were multiple blinding shades of hot pink and zebra print bedspread that was immaculately spotless covered the bed in the center of the room. "Nice room." Andy commented. 

"Let me guess, you expected something completely different." I turned back to face him. 

"Honestly, yes. I did." He laughed, picking up one of the photographs on my dresser. "Is that you?" He asked, pointing at teenage me with bleach blonde hair tied back in a high ponytail with my cheerleading uniform. 

"Unfortunately, yes." I confessed. 

"What was that with your mom down there?" He sounded concerned. 

"Nothing." I responded quickly. I didn't want to tell him everything I told Patrick because I didn't even want to think about any of that right now. "I'll explain everything in the morning, let's just get some sleep for now."

Andy agreed with me. "Alright, I'll see you in the morning." He turned on his heels and left the room. I didn't even change out of my clothes. I just leapt onto the large fluffy bed and let a dreamless sleep take over me.


	11. Light 'Em Up

Patrick's POV

I was completely confused about where I was. A group of women jumped us on our way out from the hospital when someone came up from behind me, blindfolded me, and pushed me into a van. I tried to feel around for anyone or anything to get this blindfold off since my wrists were bound. I bumped into someone, or something. 

"P-Patrick?" I heard a familiar voice stay. 

"Joe?" I responded. 

"What happened? Where are we?" Joe asked. He sounded terrified. 

"I-I don't know." I told him. "Where are Jasey and Andy?" 

"I'm not sure." Joe shook.

Suddenly, another voice jumped in. "Patrick? Joe?" I recognized that voice immediately. 

"Pete?!" Joe and I exclaimed at the same time. 

"Oh God." Pete gasped. "They got you guys too. It's my fault."

"Pete, what's going on?" I asked him.

"It's my fault. I shouldn't have contacted her." Pete muttered. 

"Contacted who?" Joe asked. I knew who he was talking about. 

"Jasey." Pete and I said at the same time. 

"When did you talk to her?" I asked. 

"A few months ago. I don't remember the actual day." Pete explained. 

"What are you doing here? Who are these people?" I questioned him.

"They took me, just like you. They threatened to kill you if I didn't leave and never contact you again." His voice began to shake. "I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Pete, who are these people?" Joe repeated. 

"I don't know. All I know is that they want us. All of us." Pete told him. 

Suddenly, the van came to a sharp halt. I fell forward and banged my head against the cold metal floor. I heard the door slide open. A hand grabbed me by the jacket and dragged me out of the van. My blindfold was removed to reveal that we were in the middle of a field. There was a large bonfire in front of us, but it wasn't a regular bonfire though. They were burning instruments; guitars, bass guitars, drums, even a microphone. The flames were fueled by all sorts of magazines, records, vinyls, and CDs, but they all had one thing in common, they were all associated with Fall Out Boy. I stepped back in shock. One of the women walked up to me and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. 

"Where is he?" She growled. 

"Wh-who?" I stammered. 

"The other one that was with you." She clarified. She meant Andy.

"He got away." The blonde holding Pete said. "The girl did too." 

A spark of hope lightly flickered in my chest. Andy and Jasey were still out there. The woman let me go and put the blindfold back on. "They're no use to us unless we have all of them." I heard my captor say, shoving me back in the van. "Take them to Linda Vista. We'll hold them there for now." I heard her slam the door shut and the van began moving again. None of us said anything. We didn't know where we were going, or how long, so I tried to take advantage of the opportunity and get some sleep because who knows what we will face when we get there. 

The only thing I remember before losing consciousness was thinking of Jasey, and praying that she was okay wherever she was. 

"Please Jasey." I whispered, "Please, please be okay."


	12. Look On The Past But Keep The Present In Mind

Jasey's POV

My head throbbed as I swam back into conciousness. I prayed that last night was all a horrible nightmare and I was back on the bus with the guys. Slowly, I opened my eyes to reveal that it was all true. I was back in my old room. "No." I held my head in my hands. "No this can't be real."

But it was, unfortunately. I pulled myself out of bed and looked at myself in the gigantic mirror across from my bed. I looked like I got in a fight with a hair dryer and lost. My hair stuck out at odd ends, my jeans were scraped up from the hospital brawl, and the scratches on my arm left four red lines running down my arm. Quickly, I rummaged through my dresser and closet and ended up finding a pair of bright red skinny jeans and a black v-neck tee shirt. I tossed off my stage clothes and pulled on the jeans and shirt. I kept my Youngblood jacket on though. It was the only thing I had left. 

Downstairs, I found my dad in conversation with Andy. My mom was nowhere to be seen though. "Where's mom?" I spoke up. 

"She's out." My dad responded. "We were just talking about you." 

I could feel my face turning red. "What about me?"

"Nothing embarrassing." He laughed. "Just catching up in my daughter's life. You seem to be doing pretty well for yourself from ehat Andy has told me." 

Just as he finished, I heard the front door open and close. Two high pitched girly shrieks filled my ears, making my skin crawl. "OMG JAYJAYYY!" I turned around to find two women my age in the entryway to the kitchen. Their faces fell into surprised expressions at the sight of me. 

"Caitlyn, Monica. What are you doing here?" I asked. They were my "friends" back in high school; both cheerleaders, super popular, and pretty snobby to say the least. 

"We heard from your mom that you came back and we wanted to see our BFF again." Caitlyn said. "You look so...different." She twirled her bleached blonde hair in between her fingers.

"Yep. Seven years is some time for major changes, at least for some people." I replied. "Like it?"

"It's....new." Monica smiled. "Who's Mr. Tall, Hot, and Tattooed?" She grinned like a schoolgirl and pointed to Andy, who was talking to my dad again. 

"Oh, that's Andy, a friend of mine." I said quickly. I didn't want to bring up the real reason we were here, I didn't know if I could trust anyone. "So, how's life? Anything new?" I asked, grabbing a coffee cup and pouring myself a cup.

"Well, now that you mention it.." Caitlin spoke up, sticking out her left hand to reveal a gigantic diamond ring. 

My eyes widened in surprise. "Wow. Congrats!" I gasped. "Who's the lucky guy?" 

"Scott Piller." She giggled. Scott was her high school sweetheart. It was a no-brainer that they'd end up together. "What about you? What happened between you and Luke?" 

My stomach did backflips. Luke Kiddley was my ex-boyfriend. He was nearly the exact opposite of Patrick; big, muscular, tough, reckless, loved by every girl in the school, and a total douche-canoe. I broke up with him when I moved to New York after he told me that he 'disapproved' of me making the decision to go to college. "I broke up with him after graduation. Don't you remember?" 

Both Monica and Caitlyn nodded. "We were wondering if you were ever going to get back together with him or..." 

"Or what?" I asked.

"If you found someone else." Monica finished. "Luke was devastated when you broke it off."

That hurt really bad. I didn't mean to hurt him, I just wanted to get out of here and Luke was the only thing holding me back. I still care for the guy, but I don't have feelings for him anymore. "How is he?" I asked. 

"Fine." Caitlyn replied, "He found someone a year after you left, got married, and now has a kid. What about you?" 

"That great. I'm actually doing pretty well myself." I replied. "I'm a touring musician, live in LA, and even found someone." 

"Ooooohhhhh." The girls cooed together, it was kind of creepy. "Who? Do you have pictures?" 

"Well, kind of." I replied, fishing for my phone. Thank god I kept it. I tried to call Patrick this morning and Joe too, but there was no answer from either of them. I unlocked it and pulled up a pic of Patrick and I before the show last night. I couldn't believe that was only last night though, it felt so long ago. "Here ya go, have fun." I showed them. 

I heard a chorus of "Awwwwwwww." from them. "That's your boyfriend?" Caitlin asked. 

I nodded, sliding my phone back in my pocket. "Yep." 

"You two look so cute together!" Monica excalimed. "I'm soooooo jealous." 

"Haha, thanks." I blushed. Suddenly, I saw my mother in the door. I felt a huge weight of dread fall on me. "Hey, I'll be back." I told them, walking over to my mother. "Hi." I muttered to her. 

"You know what I want to speak to you about, don't you?" She said sternly. 

"Yea." I muttered. 

"Do you realize how much you embarrassed me when you said you dumped Luke and were going to college?" She snapped. 

"It was my decision to make, not yours." I retorted. 

"You and your sister both broke tradition Jacinda." Her face turned red with anger. "It was passed down from my mother to me to you two to marry your childhood sweetheart and remain here happily ever after." It sounded like some cheesy fairy tale to me. 

"Like Caitlyn and Scott?" I asked. "They're happy together though. Luke was a complete ass. I was basically his toy to him."

"So you ran off to date a 'rock star'?" My mother came back. "Look what he's turned you into."

That got me angry. I knew my mother disapproved of us, but blaming my change on Patrick was completely unecessary. "What do you have against Patrick? I changed before we even met! Except for the tattoos, those were from Andy and Joe, but that's beside the point. This doesn't even make any sense why you're doing this to me. I'm happy, I'm successful, what more could you ask for?"

"A daughter who is actually loving and obedient! Not whatever this is!" My mother snapped. I stepped back in shock. I couldn't believe she just said that to me. 

"I-is this what that call was about?" I stammered, tears blurring my vision. "That I wasn't an 'obedient' daughter? Because I have different taste than you? You embarrassed me that day. You told me that I would never be good enough. That no matter how popular the band was, I'd still be the shame to the family." I ranted. "You don't care what makes me happy, only you and your damn tradition."

"Jasey." My mother's voice lowered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

"Well it sure as hell sounded like it. Don't try and hide it. I know you meant it." I said before making a dash out the door. I ran for what seemed like miles until I came across a familiar park. It was the only park in the development, but it was huge. Caitlin, Monica and I used to come here after school and do our homework under the gigantic oak tree. I made my way over to the tree and slumped up against it, just sitting in the grass. Then I just sat and broke down. I had no one to turn to, no Patrick, no Joe, no Andy, no Z, no Danny, no one. 

And for the first time in seven years, I felt completely alone.


	13. Put On Your War Paint

Andy's POV

"Don't try and hide it. I know you meant it." I heard Jasey choke before the door slam echoed through the small house. The two girls she was talking to turned back to us. 

"What was that?' The blonde, Caitlyn, asked. 

I shrugged. Mrs. Riddell walked in, she looked pretty upset. 

"Lauren, what was that?" Mr. Riddell asked, walking over to his wife's side.

"Oh, nothing." She brushed off her sadness and replaced it with a smile which even I could tell was fake. 

"Where's Jasey?" I asked.

"She ran off." She answered bluntly. 

"Where to?" I started to get concerned. "She sounded pretty upset."

"I don't know. She could have gone anywhere." Mrs Riddell snapped a bit too quickly. 

"I may know where she went, if I know my best friend." The other girl, Monica, spoke up.

"Where?" I started to get anxious. 

"The park. It's a half-mile that way." She pointed in the general direction. I rushed out the door and down the street. Just as Monica said, there was a fairly large park in the middle of the town. I scanned around for Jasey. I laid my eyes on a pair of bright red pants under a gigantic oak tree, which I automatically thought was her. 

"Jasey!" I called out. There was no response. I called out again. Still nothing. I rushed over to her, but then I stopped dead in my tracks. Jasey was laying there, unconscious and a gash on her forehead and blood running down the side of her face. A woman in skin-tight black clothing and icy pale skin was standing over her unconscious form. 

"Found you Andy." She grinned evilly. "You know you two are going to pay for running away." I stepped back to try and make a run for it, but the woman pounced on top of me and put some kind of cloth up to my mouth. I struggled for a few seconds, but I suddenly became really drowsy and eventually let the darkness take over.


	14. We Are Wild

Pete's POV

It felt like we've been in the back of this damn van for days, I'm probably just exaggerating from lack of sleep. Patrick, or at least I thought it was Patrick, was curled up asleep beside me. I didn't know where we were going, but it was my fault. If I never spoke to Jasey that day, none of this would be happening. 

"So where are they taking us?" Joe asked. 

"I think they said the 'Linda Vista', whatever the hell that is." I replied. 

"Wait, THE Linda Vista? As in the hospital?" Joe sounded afraid. "That's in Los Angeles!"

"I-I don't know." I said. "Maybe. What's so special about it?"

"People say that it's one of the most haunted hospitals in the country." Joe explained. I felt Patrick nudge up against my leg. 

"Huh? Wh-where am I? What's going on?" Patrick's voice shook. 

"Pat, it's okay." I tried to reassure him.

"Pete? What's going on?" He was definitely scared now. Suddenly, the van came to a sharp halt, sending the three of us tumbling forward. Voices echoed from the front.

"They got them and are already at the location." I heard a woman say. My stomach dropped. They got Andy and Jasey. "We'll meet them inside. I'll fetch our friends from the back." Then I heard a series of slams, followed by the all too familiar sound of the side door sliding open. I felt a pair of hands wrap a rope around my bound wrists. "Follow me," A voice growled. "Try not to struggle, it only makes it harder on yourself." Hesitantly, I obeyed the orders. I was lead inside a building and into an elevator. It wasn't until we were in the elevator that my blindfold was removed. I looked around to see that Patrick, Joe, and I were tied together by a gigantic rope. The woman with us in the elevator pulled out a large knife and began sawing away at our restraints. Once she finished, I yanked the ropes off my sore wrists and rubbed them to ease the pain. 

Suddenly, the elevator stopped. The doors slid open to reveal two other women, seriously are there no guys here or something, who each grabbed us and dragged us down the dim hall to a small door all the way at the end. Inside, I felt my heart drop. There was a long, very elaborate table stacked with all sorts of strange food in the center of the room. It was very well lit by a very expensive-looking chandelier. There were two people sitting at the table with what looked like IV bags hanging from the chandelier hooked up to them. I couldn't see their faces, but I knew who it was. 

It was Andy and Jasey. 

"Wakey wakey you two." The woman holding me cooed to them while dragging each of us to one of the chairs. I looked over at Patrick. I could see an ocean of emotions in his sapphire blue eyes; fear, anger, sadness, and most prominent on his face, heartbreak. Each of our captors grabbed a needle connected to the IV bags and jabbed it in our hands. Soon, all my fear was replaced with a strange feeling of happiness. Was I just drugged? I didn't care, or at least I couldn't focus long enough to care. 

I looked around to see that Patrick and Joe were also in the same trance-like, euphoria fueled state as me. Andy and Jasey had both somewhat come around to their senses. A group of people mostly women scantily clad in black leather, entered the room. Each of them had on a very realistic animal mask on. Some of them began circling the room, each holding what looked like a painter's palette with all sorts of different colored powders and what I believed to be a straw. One woman in a wolf mask leaned next to me and put the palette up to my face. I snorted up some of the powder and everything began to feel different. They were doing the same to the rest of the band as well. She walked around to me again, forcing me to take another shot at the stuff, this time a different color. 

I looked over at Jasey. She stood up slowly and climbed up on her chair. She began dancing on it very rhythmically along to the music that I now noticed was playing. I recognized the song almost immediately; they were playing "Young Volcanoes." . I couldn't help but notice how beautiful Jasey was, even with the dried blood on her face and stitches on her forehead. Her body moved flawlessly with the music. I noticed that Patrick was singing along. Even drugged and his senses dulled, the guy could sing pretty damn well.

That's when things started to get crazy. The women who were holding the powder-filled palettes now held different drinks, each of the pressing the goblets against our lips to force us to drink the contents inside. The whole room had become a party. We were eating, drinking, inhaling these weird tube things that looked like the ends of a hookah, blowing puffs of smoke. None of us had a care in the world. Even the ones who were serving us began to get involved. One woman even completely took her top off. Everyone was having a wonderful time from what it looked like.

The exit, our escape out of here, was completely unguarded. We weren't even restrained or tied down. A small voice in the back of my head told me to try and make a run for it, to go get help, but I was too drugged and fuzzy-headed to attempt an escape. We all danced and partied for a bit longer, but then I felt the drugs in my system take another effect. All five of us began to become really drowsy. Jasey slumped back in her chair, Patrick lulled backwards, Joe passed out in his chair, and Andy slumped forward with his head resting on the table. My vision began to get very blurry and the last thing I remember before losing consciousness was someone tying a blindfold over my eyes.


	15. One More Troubled Soul

Patrick's POV 

After the party, or what I remember of the party, I woke up in what appeared to be a chapel. I tried to move, but I was firmly restrained to the old wooden chair. I looked around to discover that I was wired up to some kind of machine. 

"Hello Patrick." A smooth but poison-dipped voice cut the silence. 

"Who are you?" I demanded. "Where is everyone else? What do you want with me?" 

The voice laughed. "Why only the one thing you and your precious band has so desperately tried to save."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." I stammered. "Save what?" 

The voice cackled. "Don't play games with me Patrick. You know what I'm talking about."

My mind was spinning. Save what? Her words raced through my head. Me and my band. She must have known why Pete left, or why he was forced to leave. But then it hit me. How could I not have realized it earlier? It was posted on every CD we have released this year. They wanted to stop us from doing what we came back to do. Save Rock and Roll. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joe's POV

I somehow became conscious a while after the weird-ass party or whatever it was. I tried to stretch my arms, but I was restrained by a straightjacket and chained to a small wooden stool. "Where am I?" I thought. The room looked like a theater and one of those old microphones like the one we used in the America's Suitehearts video was set up in front of me onstage, the one time I wished I wasn't on a stage. The only door in here slammed open and shut. I expected it to be one of those psycho women that kidnapped us, but I was suprisingly corrected. 

Two young girls, probably seven or eight years old, that were dressed in normal school uniforms rushed up to the edge of the stage. "Oh shit." I muttered under my breath before everything got even weirder than it already was. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Jasey's POV

The first thing I remember after the 'party' was everything being stiff and sore. My head felt like it had been run over by the tour bus a few too many times. "Ugh." I groaned. "Worst. Hangover. Ever." I may have been hungover, which I could tell I was, but I could kind of make out where I was. It was dark, except for a single glowing lightbulb swinging over me. Where were the guys? The last thing I remember was us in some big room partying away, definitely under the influence of some probably illegal substance. I tried to stand up, but I realized that I was tied firmly to the chair. My ankles were taped to the legs and my wrists were taped tightly behind my back. I struggled against my restraints for a good five minutes, even it was useless. 

"Good morning princess." An icy voice cut the air like a knife. 

"Who are you?" I asked warily. "What do you want with us?" 

"Oh Jasey, Jasey, Jasey." The voice mocked. "You were always one to ask the questions. Why couldn't you have just been like the rest of the squad and follow the status quo?" Two figures emerged from the shadows. They were two teenage girls dressed in cheerleading uniforms, but they weren't any school uniform; it was my high school cheerleading uniform. The girls walked up to me slowly. One straddled me and pulled my shirt up to just below my chest. 

"You know, the school honors you as one of its most successful alumni." She cooed, pulling out what appeared to be a swiss army knife and flipping the blade up. 

"But there are others who say otherwise." The other girl finished, pulling out a lighter. She lit the flame and pressed it to my arm, the one without the tattoos and scratches. I screamed in pain. 

"Oh, looks like the emo can feel pain after all." The one straddling me mocked, pressing the blade to my hip. She stuffed a cloth in my mouth to stifle my screams until she was finished with her work. It wasn't until she was satisfied that she climbed off me and pulled the cloth out of my mouth. She had carved two words into my skin; on my right hip was the word 'freak' and on my left hip was the word 'emo'. 

Then the girl with the lighter got to work.She began running the flame up and down my stomach, leaving burn marks at every touch. The pain was indescribable. I could feel the hot tears running down my face. 

"P-please." I choked. "St-stop." 

"Not until we're through." The girls mocked at the same time. Suddenly, as if a guardian angel had heard my prayers, the alarms blared through the room. The girls both looked at each other and left the room as quick as possible. Whoever, or whatever, had tripped that alarm had just become my saving grace. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Andy's POV

As I woke up, I began to remember what had happened at the party. I tried to stand, but I was firmly restrained to the chair. Looking around, I thought I was back at Jasey's parent's house, but it was too dark and there were no windows. I also noticed that I had a pair of large headphones thaqt were connected to some weird stereo-looking thing. 

"Hello Andy." I heard a venomous voice call my name. A woman stepped out of the shadows, but it wasn't anyone. It was the woman who kidnapped me and Jasey.

"What do you want from us?" I demanded. Normally, I don't get very angry, but this woman kidnspped me and my best friends, drugged us, and now was torturing us. Suddenly, a ear-piercing scream shattered the air. It was unmistakably Jasey. That got me furious. "What the hell did you do to her?!" I snapped. Jasey was the youngest out of us and ever since she joined I felt that I was the one to look after her since I was the oldest. She was basically my little sister. 

"I did nothing." The woman raised her perfectly manicured hands in defense. "You're my only concern as of now." She grinned maliciously and walked over to the stereo. She began fiddling with the buttons until a blood-curdling noise filled my ears. The woman began talking to me and getting all up in my face. I couldn't understand her though. Every time she spoke, the noise started back up again. This kept going on and on for what felt like hours until I eventually blacked out from the pain.


End file.
